Anyone know of any issues (perhaps player specific) with the Norway's (Benelux) MGM R2 edition of The Commitments that would cause it to display in full screen only? The specs don't even show a full screen option (nor does anything found here; the aspect ratio is listed as 1.85:1 anamorphic) -- and yet it only outputs in full screen.

Any ideas what might be causing this? It sounds like it may be a player-specific problem, but I'm open to any other ideas for fixes.

Originally posted by DonnachaOne Sounds like someone's watching a PAL disc on 16:9 mode...

Why / How specifically is that a problem, DonnachaOne? And what would the appropriate correction be if this is indeed the case? I ask because it's not me who is having the problem, but rather the guy to whom I sold the disc (new and sealed). I've told him that he needs to check his settings, but I'd like to be able to give him a more detailed explanation of the [potential] problems, and I'm not tech savvy enough to pull it off. For his part, the buyer insists he "plays R2 DVDs all the time" on his machine, but he hasn't yet responded to my request for player model / number info (I was thinking the problem might be player-specific).

I would bet it is an issue with your player not converting Anamorphic PAL correctly.

What region-free player are you using?

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Well, celluloid, some DVD players can't translate PAL video and anamorphic video simultaneously. The picture plays, but it is vertically stretched, so 1.85:1 films appear to fill the screen. Though the picture is distorted, you'd be surprised how many people don't notice that fact that the people are taller and thinner than they should be!

We really need his player type and number so that the problem can be attested to.